Opinion: Stop the war, not the flow of people

The current refugee crisis that threatens to dismantle the European Union is a direct product of the decades-long U.S.-style militarization of foreign policy. It's high time for Canada to re-evaluate the merits of a policy that only brings about destruction of life and property, speeds up political and religious radicalization, and deepens resentment against Western liberal democracies in places devastated by their bombs.

Since the terrorist attacks on the French capital, I have seen a number of Facebook posts about dangers of the false equation between the refugees fleeing Syria and the criminals who murdered more than 120 and wounded many more. Those posts exposed fabricated fear of refugees that was born of misinformation, narrow-mindedness and stereotypes, and nourished by political manipulation.

None, however, did it more succinctly than an image of a high school girl holding a poster that read, “Stop the War. Not people.” It’s a reminder that we need to address the root causes of the refugee crisis, and never to cast aside our duty, moral and otherwise, to help those in need.

It also sounded as a good description of what the new federal government has been trying to do: take Canada out of the war which only produces more terror and deepens hatred, and open up its borders to people fleeing for their lives. Those are two sides of the same coin.

History teaches us that once elected, governments rarely follow up on all of their commitments made in the heat of a campaign. It is even rarer to witness them honouring a major promise in its original form. The business of governing often impedes the fulfilling of many election promises.

The new tenant in 24 Sussex Drive seems to be an exception. It is refreshing to see a government that is intended on honouring its election pledge to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees and withdraw the Canadian fighter jets from active combat over that devastated country. To do so in the face of a growing opposition at home and after horrendous mass killings in Paris is indeed impressive.

While the logistics of bringing in such high number of refugees are daunting, these people are not a threat to Canada in any way. Whoever says differently, wishes to scare us into submission to the politics of nationalism, racism, hatred and xenophobia.

Not allowing himself to be bullied into “reconsidering” (read: giving up) his election promise casts an interesting light onto the new prime minister and his cabinet. They are returning onto a course in Canadian foreign policy which was all but devastated by the previous tenant at 24 Sussex.

Over the past century, Canada had built its international reputation as a peacekeeping country, as well as a refuge for millions fleeing war and persecution. I was among those who came here from the former Yugoslavia.

Since October 2001, however, my adopted country has been at war with some sinister force or other at geographically distant battlefields. To support ill-conceived adventures of our southern neighbour, war-making became a matter of the Canadian foreign policy course.

The consequences of such choices have been amassing as either innocent civilians murdered in Beirut, Paris, Gaza, Madrid, Damascus, London, Borno State (in northeastern Nigeria), Istanbul and other places of suffering, or as refugees lining up with their pathetic bundles before visa officers in European detention centres.

The current refugee crisis that threatens to dismantle the European Union is a direct product of the decades-long U.S.-style militarization of foreign policy. It’s high time for Canada to re-evaluate the merits of a policy that only brings about destruction of life and property, speeds up political and religious radicalization, and deepens resentment against Western liberal democracies in places devastated by their bombs.

We must acknowledge that dangers of terrorism cannot be curbed by military action. With its decisions to withdraw Canadian fighter jets from the sky over Syria and to accelerate the bringing refugees to Canada, the new government is acknowledging a catastrophic failure of the militarized foreign policy of the last decade. It is also rebuilding my adopted country’s reputation as a champion of peace and a safe port of call for those in need. That, I believe, is worth supporting.

Srdja Pavlovic teaches modern European and Balkan history at the University of Alberta. He can be reached at pavlovic@ualberta.ca

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